GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — A third victim was found Sunday in the wreckage from a fiery crash inside a Wyoming highway tunnel that involved 26 cars and trucks, officials said.
At least five people were seriously injured in Friday’s accident along Interstate 80 near the small town of Green River, Wyoming. The crash sparked a fire inside the tunnel that completely destroyed six commercial vehicles and two passenger vehicles.
Most of the wreckage had been removed by Sunday, with fewer than 10 vehicles still inside the tunnel, said Sgt. Jason Roascio with the Wyoming Highway Patrol.
But snow was slowing the work of federal and state investigators as they went vehicle by vehicle trying to reconstruct the scene and determine what happened, he said.
“We’re hopeful that this is the final fatality,” Roascio said.
Further details on the three victims had yet to be released.
Photos distributed Sunday showed the charred remains of two vehicles inside the tunnel.
The crash took place in the westbound tube of the twin tunnel under Castle Rock, a sandstone formation that looms over the town of Green River in the state’s southwest region.
The wreck and ensuing fire shut down the interstate, the primary east-west road corridor through Wyoming, and traffic was rerouted through Green River.
The eastbound tunnel was expected to reopen Wednesday and handle traffic in both directions for the time being. Engineers have been unable to estimate when the westbound tunnel will reopen.